Colonial Pipeline Co. will send treated water from massive gasoline spill into NC creek

Joe Marusak
·2 min read
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North Carolina environmental regulators this week approved Colonial Pipeline Co.’s plan to remove contaminants in recovered groundwater from a massive gasoline spill near Huntersville and discharge the treated water into a creek.

Two million gallons of gasoline seeped from a crack in the wall of an underground pipeline in Mecklenburg County’s Oehler Nature Preserve in 2020, Colonial Pipeline Co. officials revealed in an updated estimate last summer.

The discharge was “the largest onshore fuel spill in the nation,” N.C. Department of Environmental Quality officials said at the time.

The new amount exceeded the company’s previous estimate of the leak by 800,000 gallons and followed a Mecklenburg County judge approving a $5 million settlement of a state lawsuit over the spill. The order required Colonial Pipeline to release an updated spill estimate.

The largest gasoline spill in North Carolina history occurred in Mecklenburg County’s Oehler Nature Preserve near Huntersville.
The largest gasoline spill in North Carolina history occurred in Mecklenburg County’s Oehler Nature Preserve near Huntersville.

On Wednesday, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality officials said Colonial received a state permit that lets the company build an on-site treatment plant and discharge the treated groundwater into North Prong Clark Creek, in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River basin.

The spill and remediation site is situated between Ramah Church Road and Huntersville-Concord Road, around 20 miles north of Charlotte.

The permit includes stricter treatment limits of harmful chemicals in the recovered gasoline and increased monitoring of what’s released into the creek, according to an NCDEQ news release.

In a statement, Colonial Pipeline Co. said the company “appreciates NCDEQ’s thorough permit review and decision, which will enable us to speed up product recovery, limit underground migration, and minimize truck traffic on public roadways.”

“Our focus remains on safely recovering product and remediating the site, and we will continue working closely with environmental agencies and local leaders to ensure our operations meet or exceed regulatory requirements,” according to the company statement.

Colonial doesn’t have an estimated start date for construction of the treatment system, because the company still needs “a few final permits” for the work, a spokesman told The Charlotte Observer Thursday.

Two teenage ATV riders chanced upon the spill in August 2020 and reported the leak, which continues to prompt public protests, including a recent youth rally in the town.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.